My Jack Russell/Beagle loves to chew on raw meaty bones.
My cocker only waits until Jake gets them chewed a bit
then she steals them and buries them next door.
She loves Pigs ears that are more easily eaten.

Pigs ears !! Tell me about it !! My dogs will run through walls for pig ears.

We bring them one each and they :-
1) quarrel over who has got the best
2) run to the most remote part of the house/room to make sure nobody else gets theirs.
3) rush to eat theirs so they can pinch somebody else's later (usually a younger or smaller dog) when they're not looking.

At least it's about 45 minutes of peace when they settle down to deal with it.

As a die-hard sceptic, I need to be convinced that bones or BARF offer a better diet than commercial dog-food. Obviously I am very aware that the big pet food companies create profit by getting away with whatever they can. (Incidentally, why on earth does the USA need to import grain from China ?). But that also applies to the human food processing industry, starting with farmers. God knows what goes into farm animals before they get into the food chain and into supermarkets and butchers, for example, chemicals and all kinds of recycled junk. The outbreaks of foot and mouth, mad cow disease and salmonella in the UK in recent years does nothing to inspire confidence in the farming industry.

So, can I expect that my dogs will achieve better health from food that is primarily for human consumption than that from the pet food industry.

Or, are the risks involved (possibly minimal) outweighed by the benefits.

I am willing to be convinced, but there is junk everywhere.

We have fed on kibble throughout and the eldest, 13 years, is still running around and looks good for several more years now (Cavaliers generally live between 10 and 14 years of age). None of the rest have allergies, rashes, etc., so what will my dogs gain by transferring to bones or BARF ?

I think it depends on the commercial food you feed. Some like burns for example are pretty good. Others can do more harm than good to our pets.

All I can trust is my own experience - trying raw diet through sheer desperation to help my dog who having tried numerous 'good' commercial foods (including burns) still itched till she bled and had eye problems. I know these are diet related and I had helped ease them by only feeding Burns and nothing else. But its only since being on raw that I have a dog who no longer scratches all day. for me the results speak for themselves and I can honestly say she is healthier and fitter than she has ever been before.And I would never go back to commercial dog foods.

And I was a sceptic - I had tried everything and didnt think changing her diet to raw would help that much but it did.

Hi
I went onto raw with my daxies in March, I didn't beleve all the hype, but thought I'd give it a go as one of my daxies had a poor coat and was itchy (I have spent a small fortune trying to cure this) I follow the B.A.R.F diet as best I can (mini daxies can hardly chew a cows leg....etc) So I began with raw tripe, minced chicken, heart, liver, etc. I puree raw veggies and also add diced raw veg, I throw in a little cooked brown rice and hey presto!(they have a raw chicken wing each for pudding) My daxies look 10 times better and do not struggle with their weight anymore. One of the daxies who was lazy, now plays fetch. They seem much calmer, kind of like the difference between a child on processed food and smarties and a child on steamed fish, veg and fruit!
I have always been very careful about giving my children anything processed. They always have freshly prepared food. I just feel guilty that I haven't done the same for my dogs all these years!
It took me a while to get used to preparing meals for (at the time) 6 dogs but I make up a weeks worth of veg/rice pots and freeze them.

Dr Harry had a bone night last week if you go to Better homes and Garden site you will probably find it.Real bones but soft bones he suggested,necks,wings and brisket for small dogs,NEVER cooked bones,if they chew bones they don`t need Dental stuff as the bones will the do the same if not better job of their teeth.Charlie my poodle is seven and i have never had his teeth cleaned and the vet says he has good teeth.Apparently small dogs have trouble with greenies as they are very hard and some dogs swallow them without chewing them enough.

yes, I puree my veggies but the two wirehaired daxies enjoy apple slices as snacks! I buy twice as many apples now and the dogs sit and drool when the kids are munching away on apples and carrot sticks! CRAZY